Lenten Prayer

Stewardship by the Book

The Waters of Baptism make us part of the new covenant in Christ. But the bishops’ pastoral letter on stewardship reminds us that “there is a fundamental obligation arising from the Sacrament of Baptism...that people place their gifts, their resources—their selves—at God’s service in and through the Church.”

Centennial Campaign Update

As of December 2017, our parish has received two installment payments from the Diocesan Centennial Campaign rebate. This is thanks to your generosity and gracious response to the campaign. With these installments we have been able to accomplish the following items of the case statement. We have completely retired our parish’s debt for the property acquisition in which our parish purchased the apartment complex that was located on the corner of St. Peter and Iberia Streets as well as the Babineaux Dental office. Secondly, we were able to completely retire the debt incurred at Catholic High School years ago when the cafeteria and new classrooms were constructed. St. Peter’s, as a co-owner parish, assumed a portion of this construction debt. Our obligation to this debt has now been satisfied. You may have noticed that the subsequent monthly Catholic High collection has been changed to the Catholic High Tuition Subsidy collection. As was stated previously, any future capital improvements or acquisitions that Catholic High will make will be solely funded by the school. Thirdly, with the campaign rebates we were able to reimburse the Knights of Columbus for needed air conditioning work at the Knight’s home on Center Street. Fourthly, we were also able to reimburse the Disch-DeClouet Social Service Center for the parking lot resurfacing that was done. These debt obligations have been satisfied and have completed the first part of our parish case statement.

The second part of the case statement is to begin doing deferred maintenance on the parish rectory and church. These maintenance issues have been assigned priority by our parish architect and will be addressed in the order of priority. The first are the windows on the parish rectory. With the December 2017 rebate once the entire first tier of case statement elements were satisfied we are left with $12,843.21 in savings which will be allocated for the replacement of the rectory windows. It is the goal of this imitative to address projects in the order of priority, as established by our architect, and as we have funds available to complete these projects. Once we receive a final proposal figure for the window replacement we will forward the information to you.

We thank you for your support of this campaign. If you would like to contribute to the campaign, you may contact our parish office at 369-3816 to make a contribution.

Disch-DeClouet Annual Campaign

The Disch-DeClouet Social Service Center is a non-profit organization, run by 35 dedicated volunteers. The Center has served the poor and needy of Iberia Parish providing for critical and basic human needs (food, clothing, utility and rent assistance, and other help) for over 40 years. Last year alone, over 14,000 persons - our neighbors - were served.

We are conducting our Annual Campaign which will run through the Lenten Season, and we need your help. We ask that you prayerfully consider investing in those less fortunate by sharing your gifts. Without additional financial support we cannot maintain the level of service that we have been giving for many years.

Please use the campaign envelope for your tax-deductible donation and see the brochure for more information. May God bless you for your generosity. Thank you!

Memorials & Personal Intentions - Votive Candles

Votive Candles are available for memorials and personal intentions throughout the Church. Prices and locations are as follows:

Candles on St. Joseph’s Altar are perpetual candles and burn for one year for memorial and personal intentions. The cost of these candles is now $260.00. The increase is due to the fact that the $115.00 did not cover the actual cost of these candles for the year.

The votive candles on the Blessed Mother’s Altar are $5.00 for the seven-day candles.

The votive candles in the Baptistery are for St. Jude and St. Anthony and are $2.00. They burn for one day.

A Way for Seniors to Cut their Income Tax Bill

If you are:

Aged 70 ½ or older and

Have a regular individual retirement account (“IRA”),

then you should consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution (“QCD”) to the church from your IRA. This was a great idea even before the new tax law was enacted at the end of 2017, but now it probably makes even more sense. The advantages are:

the portion contributed directly from your IRA to the church will offset your annual Required Minimum Distribution, meaning

your adjusted gross and taxable income will be lower and

you could quite possibly lower the portion of your social security that is taxable.

With the increased standard deduction for those 65 or older up to $26,600 for joint filers ($13,300 for singles), doing the QCD would allow you the full tax savings as if you were allowed a charitable deduction under the old tax law. Each person can do a QCD of up to $100,000 per year.

Contact your investment and tax advisor, or call the Church office for more information.

2017 Contributions Statement

If you would like to have a copy of your 2017 Statement of Contributions mailed to you, please call the office at 369-3816 to request one.

Second Collections

Mar. 17th & 18th
Catholic High School Subsidy

Mar. 24th & 25th
Property & Liability Insurance

Sanctuary Candle Memorials

The Sanctuary Candles located in the church and the adoration chapel can burn for a selected week in memory of a loved one. The donation for each memorial request is $25.00 for the week. These memorial requests will be published in the bulletin.

To request the memorial, please visit the Parish Office during regular office hours.

Votive Candle Donations

We are asking parishioners to please remember to place your donations in the donation slot when lighting votive candles for your prayer intentions. Unfortunately, due to the lack of payments, candle expenses are not being covered. By doing this, we can help defray the cost of candles in the parish. Everyone’s cooperation is greatly appreciated.